Why does changing the volume of the reaction vessel have no effect on this equilibrium?
CO(g) + Fe3O4(s) <===> CO2(g) + 3FeO(s)
Although there is nothing wrong with what Veronica wrote, the response doesn't answer the question. The response talks in terms of reaction rates while the question asks for shift in equilibrium; i.e., Le Chatelier's Principle. The reason there is no shift in the equilibrium is because there is no difference in number of moles on each side. Note there is one mole gas on the right and one mole gas on the left; changing the volume changes the concentration and it changes the pressure BUT since the number of moles are the same there is no shift. Under an increase in pressure, the reaction would shift to the side with the smaller number of moles. Same number of moles, no shift.
The only factors that effect the rate of reaction are the temperature used for heating, concentration of your reactants , physical state of your reactants, pressure and the catalyst used.
However, reducing the volume of the reaction vessel increases the number of collisions so the reaction rate increases as pressure increases.
Well, let's say the reaction vessel is like a party, and the CO and Fe3O4 are the guests. Now, when they decide to have a little conversation and form CO2 and FeO, it doesn't matter if you make the party bigger or smaller. They'll still have the same discussion and produce the same products.
In other words, changing the volume of the reaction vessel won't affect the equilibrium because the ratio of the reactants and products will remain the same. It's like trying to cram more or fewer people into a room and expecting their conversations to change. So, no matter how you adjust the volume, the equilibrium will remain unaffected. It's a stubborn equilibrium, not mere volume-conscious!
Changing the volume of the reaction vessel does not have an effect on this equilibrium because the number of moles of gas on both sides of the reaction is the same. In this reaction, there is only one mole of gas on each side: CO(g) on the left and CO2(g) on the right. The other compounds, Fe3O4(s), FeO(s), and 3FeO(s), are solids and are not considered when determining the effect of volume changes on the equilibrium.
According to Le Chatelier's principle, changes in pressure or volume will affect the equilibrium position if there is a difference in the number of moles of gas on the reactant and product sides. When the volume is changed, the pressure inside the reaction vessel may change, but since the number of gas molecules remains the same, the equilibrium position does not shift.
In summary, changing the volume of the reaction vessel has no effect on the equilibrium because the number of moles of gas on both sides of the reaction is the same.
To understand why changing the volume of the reaction vessel has no effect on this equilibrium, we need to consider Le Chatelier's principle.
Le Chatelier's principle states that when a system at equilibrium is subjected to a change in conditions, the system will adjust itself in a way that opposes the change.
In this chemical equation, the reactants are CO gas and Fe3O4 solid, and the products are CO2 gas and FeO solid.
When the volume of the reaction vessel is changed, it affects the concentration of the gases but not the concentration of the solid substances. Since the volume change only affects the gases, Le Chatelier's principle tells us that the equilibrium will adjust to counteract this change.
Increasing the volume, for example, will lead to a decrease in the partial pressure of the gases, which causes the system to shift in a direction that produces more gas molecules. On the other hand, decreasing the volume will increase the partial pressure of the gases, causing the system to shift in a direction that decreases the total number of gas molecules.
However, in this particular reaction, the number of gas molecules does not change. The reactants and products both involve one gas molecule each (CO and CO2). Therefore, any change in volume will not affect the equilibrium because there are no additional gas molecules involved that would trigger a shift to oppose the volume change.
In summary, changing the volume of the reaction vessel has no effect on this equilibrium because there is no change in the total number of gas molecules in the reaction.